Placer washing apparatus



Sept. 19, 1944. H. G. MARTIN PLACER WASH NG APPARATS Filed Dec. 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 19, 1944 UNITED 2SATES PATENT ol rlcs 2,ss409 PLACER WASHING PPARTUS Henry G. Martin,- Diallo Heights, 0. Z. Applicati0n December 5, 1941Serial No. 421,782

1 Claim. (01. 203-451) iThis invention relates generally to apparatus "for sepatating solds having different specific "gravities. It is more partcularly directed to a machine in which placer gold or platinum containingsands and gravels or ree gold in crushed rock may be treated to separate the precious metals from the lessvaluable mineral matter.

An object of the invention is to provide a gold washing machine with a rotating drum element having riflle-form'ing means on its exterior peripheral surface and means for moving the ele- .ment whereby the riflies will pass the discharge end ofa chute or smilar device utlized to convey -previously screened sands or gravels to the machine, means also being provided to supply the a direction opposed to their movement whereby the lighter unwanted solids will be conveyed toward the waste discharge while the desired materialsare retaned in the riffles and conveyed thereby to the point of removal, means being provided to eiect positve "removal thereof in the event the same do not voluntarly separate theretrom.

Other objects will be apparent fromthe following description and the accompanying drawings,

manner of mounting the same in the frame, the

ir1iles with water which flows over the rifiles in in which a washing apparatus formed in accordance wth the present invention has been disclosed in detail.

In the drawings:

paratus;

Fig. 2 is a detail vertica1 sectional view taken through the apparatus and llnstrating the movab1e rifile ca.rrying element thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view taken LReferring more particularly to the drawngs,

the numeral l designats the washing apparatus in its entirety. In thsinstance, the apparatus ion the plane indicated by the line IIIIII of portions in the nature.of corrugations.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the washing apunaffected bv moisture. The drum includes end walls 8 and a oylindrcal peripheral wal1 9. T0 this latter -vvall, there is secured an outer covering l) which is transversely grooved to provide a series of alternately arranged high and 10W The covering I0 may be formed of sheet metal or it may be an ntegral part of the peripheral wall 9.

The side walls 8 extend outwardly beyond the covering In to provide flanges at the ends of the corrugations to prevent the escape of water therefrom. Due to the shapeof the drum and the drum wi ll be free to revolve about a horizontal axis whereby the. rflles will be consecutvely presented to the discharge end of a chute I l over which materialsto be separated may pass in the operation of feeding the machine.

T0 effect the rotation of the drum, it is providecl with a groeve l2for the reception of an endless belt I3 also trained around a small pulley |4 carried by ashaft 15.; 'Ihis shaft is journaled in bearings I6 carried by a plate H supported o-n the bottom rails of the frame adjacent to one end thereof. A secondary pulley I8 is provided on this shaft to receive a second endless belt I9 employed in transmtting rotary moti0n from a power driven pulley 20. To drive the pulley'2, there is provided a small internalcombustion engine 2I, this member being mounted on a supporting shelf 22 positioned on the center rails substantially in vertical registration with the plate I'l. Suitable control means, not shown, may be provided t0 dsconnect the pulley2 from the drvng shaft of the engine when t is dsired to nterruptthe rotaton of the drum and yet keep the engine in operaton.

-Rotation of the shaft I5 also serves to operate -a pump 23 employed to elevate waterfrom a includes a substantially rectangular open frame 2 which is ormed from a plurality of vertically and. horizontally extending angle bars 3 and 4, respectively, suitably joined to form a unit having bottom, center and top rails. At their intermediate portions, the center rails are provided with hearing blocks 5 for the recepton of the ends of an ax1e 6. The axle may be rotatably s11pp0rted 'within the bearing blocks for the movable support of a drum 1.

The drum may be ormed from any suitable material capable of withstandng the uses to which the apparatus will be placed and preferably from an inexpensive material which will be pump to the reservor25.

primary reservoir 24 to a secondary reservoir 25. A pipe line 26 extends from the reservoir 24 to the pump 23 and a second pipe 21 eXtends fron the The outlet of the latter reservoir communcates with a valved line 28which leads to a ported spray head 29. 'Ihs head is of tubular form and extends transversely of the frame immediately above the drum 1. The

issuing from the head wil flow over the riffles in a. clockwise direction even though the drum is rotating toward. the head.

When the materials to be separated are discharged from the chute I I, they will be deposited in the stream of water flovving over the rifiied surface. If the materials contain soil, it w1l be softened and carried away by the water. The 1ghter solids such as small sand and gravel will also be carried away or moved in a clockwise direction over the surface l to a discharge chute 30 supported by the ramework in a plane below the center of the drum. The receivng end of the chute 30 is located in close relation tothe perph ery of the drum to catch the waterancl waste materials as they fal1 from the surface of the drum after they have reached "a point in horizontal registration with the axis of rotat-ion. Dueto the corrugations or rifiles, the solid materials will be agitated and washed, whereby the heavier particles will be caused to separate fron1jthe lighter undesired materials. These heairier partic1es wil1 settle in the 1owr portionsf thecorrugations and move with the drum in opposition to the direction of -flow of the strearn of water. The contnued rotation of the drum vv1l carry these heavy particles to a collector 3I mountd in the frame below the drum. The member 3I is arcuate in form and extnds partly around the I'ower portion of the drum to 'catchthe particles as they fa11 from the corrugations under the influence of gravity. In the eventall "of the partioles do not drop from the drum, they will be positively removed therefrrn by a scraper element 32 mounted at one end of the colector 3I. Other means, such as ajet of water, may be substituted foi or used in conjunction with the scrape elementto effect theremoval of the materia1 adhering to the drum. 1

The scraper may be lformed from a resilierit inaterial; if desired, to more c1o sely engage the cover H3. I t may be"resilientlyheld in engagement with the cover by a leaf spring 33 which is secred to the member 3! and engaged with lugs 34 carried by brace members35 for'ming part of thje frame. The spring 33 yi1dablymaintains the scraper in engagement with the corrugatedcover and permits it to move over the elevat ed portons thereof as the drum revolves. The materials collected by the member 3! wil] gravtatetoasnmp 36 provided at its lowermost portion. This sump conimunicates with a tube 31, the 'diScharge end of which registers with a receiver 38 Through "the provision of the scraper, very finesediment will be removed from the surface of thedrum, thus preventing ths materal from beingbarried around to the point whererit could possibly be removed by the fresh charges of materials to be "separated.

Untreated triaterials may be suppliedto the machine by introducing themto a coarse sereen 39 supp-orted in an inciined position over a chute 40. This chute is also inclinedanclis supported above the drum by -1eg s 11. The coarse gravel is rem0ved by the sereen and will roll down this member to a chute 42 provided for recevng and conductng the coarse waste to a point of storage. The finer gravel and gold-containing materal wi1l gravitate along the chute 40 and be discharged from the 1ower end thereof onto the chute H over whch it trave1s to the drum to be separated in the manner above descrbed. The water is separated from the waste for recirculation by providing the chute 30 with a fine sereen 43 in vertical registration with the reservoir 24. As the Waste and water flow along the chute 30,

the water wil1 pass through the sereen 43 and into the reservoir 24 from whch it will be moved by the pump23 to the reservoir 25. The flow of water to the drum is controlled by a va1ve 44 po sitiond in the l ine 28.

The separation of the materials during the washng is facilitated by providing one of the bearings 5 with a ratchet-like surface 45 disposed "for engagementwth a similar surface formed on ahub 46 of the drum. The ratchet-like surfaces are held in yieldableengagement by postioning acoilspring 41 between the other bearing and the second hub of the drum. As the drum is revolved, it will be caused. to vibrate horizontally andimpart a shaking action to the materials being seiaarated.

While apparatus has been proposedheretofore whichemboded the use of riflied surfaces and rotatingdrums, t is believed that the c0mbination of these elenients and the location of the riffles on the exterior of the rotating drum will ;pr0

drum insribstaritiallyparallel relation -tothe axis of rtaton thereof, said means forming riffles around the circumference of sad drm,-rrieans or imparting rotary motion to sad-drurn, water supplyingmeansdelivering a stream ofwater to the riffles at the top of the drum, saidsupp1ying rnans beng ai*ranged to cause the water-deliv ton opposed tothe dirction of rottion of said therper porton of said "drum adjacent to the point of application of said stream of water,

" means for collecting"and conductin'gmoistureand vaste away from sai d drum, sediment collecting jieldablyengag'ed with "said rifilesto cause sediment retaned thereon to bedeposited in Said fcb1lecting means, and means for vibratngsaid "drum during rotation 'iihereof.

I-IENRY G. MARTIN. 

